Could anti-PC Trump be right?

By Robert OdeanGuest Columnist

Tuesday

Dec 22, 2015 at 2:00 AM

Recently, presidential Republican candidate Donald Trump, reacting to the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, said Muslim immigrants should not be permitted in the United States at this time.

Both Republican and Democratic leaders, and the liberal media, are ganging up to demonize Trump. Like lemmings, they act as one.

Of course, Trump overstates the problem. It is certainly not the “politically correct” rhetoric we have come to expect of presidential candidates. He does not talk like a politician; he paints with a broad brush. However, common folks, not bound by and weary of political correctness, know he is right.

Critics are going nuts. They do not engage with what Trump is saying and would rather jeer and call him names. Why?

After the Paris attack, what did France do? It closed its borders. After San Bernardino, our borders remained open. Even after the State Department’s slipshod vetting of terrorist killer Tashfeen Malik, the best the political elite could do was call for greater tolerance.

Trump says we must look seriously at the refugee program being pushed by President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and try to get a handle on the problem. On Nov. 19, the House of Representatives passed a bill to suspend the program allowing Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the United States. The vote was 289-137, with 47 Democrats joining 242 Republicans in favor of the bill.

This bill does not state that these refugees are Muslims, but most of them are. The president threatens a veto because “that’s not who we are.”

Of course, there are loyal Muslim Americans, just as there were loyal German and Japanese Americans during World War II. Trump, by the way, has never denied this.

It is evident that politicians and the media’s “experts” are offended by Trump. Certainly he is not a member of the “politicians’ union.” Are politicians afraid that Trump will challenge how they do the country’s business? Or, worse, are they afraid that his proposals may prove to be the correct actions for our country to take?

Politics is a tough business. Unlike other jobs, one has to pay to get in, and pay to stay in. These “dues” are called campaign financing. Unfortunately, contributions generally are not enough.

Peter Schweizer’s book, “Extortion,” reveals how politicians have found a way to raise the resources they need by working with lobbyists. By manipulating a piece of legislation not yet before Congress, they can extort money from those who want the bill passed, as well as from those who do not. Lobbyists, seeking to influence how a senator or representative will vote, make contributions to the candidate’s next campaign, hoping to influence votes.

I know from whereof I speak. Years ago, I worked in Washington as a lobbyist. The word was: Watch where the money is going to see what is happening. In other words, watch where the money is spent and how the lobbyists are spending their own funds!

Trump used to sit at the table with these lobbyists with his own big wad of money; he is very familiar with the Washington game. Isn’t it possible that, seeing how our country is in deep trouble, he now has a sincere change of heart and wants our country to change direction before we get even deeper in trouble? Is that what he is really about in his admittedly unpolished fashion?

Trump does not live in the fine talk and carefully worded world of the politicians. He does not belong in their “union.” He says what concerns him, and he repeats these concerns often. When we take time to check the reality behind his sometimes over-the-top speeches, there is a factual basis to what he is saying that most people are eager to hear.

Politicians may indeed be afraid that Trump will do what he says. What a change that would be. When Trump has done something in the business world, it has been pretty impressive. Everything he has done has been guided by competent teams. That’s what he wants for America.

Robert Odean is retired and lives in Hendersonville. Odean is a former college administrator and Washington lobbyist. Reach him at rlojbo2954@aol.com.

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